


Go the Fuck to sleep! (As read by Daryl Dixon)

by Valerie_Red



Series: Daryl's bedtime stories [1]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Adorable Judith, Bedtime Stories, Daddy Rick, Daryl is a good uncle, Dramatic Daryl, Family Fluff, Gen, Protective Rick, based on work by Adam Mansbach, go the fuck to sleep - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-26
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-09-02 09:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8662240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Valerie_Red/pseuds/Valerie_Red
Summary: In which Daryl finds the book his brother read to him when he was a kid and Rick is just glad Judith is too young to understand.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Go the Fuck to sleep was written by Adam Mansbach. Please check out the original narrated version on youtube! It's worth it!

"You got what ya needed?" Daryl asked, looking through the bottom cabinets and triumphantly pulling out a box of formula milk. "Yes, we did! Let's go!" he answered for him with a grin. “And I even got the little asskicker something special~” he added as they hurried back to the car.  
They were in the last house of the block and they'd already cleared out every other place, so they were headed home now.  
"So, you gonna show me what ga got for Judith?" Rick asked when they got back and they unloaded all the goods.  
"Yeah, it's this story my brother used to read me when I was a kid," Daryl said, laughing. That made Rick pause. Surely there was no such thing as an inappropriately racist bedtime story for rednecks, was there?  
Daryl was already walking again though, so he could only run after him and see for himself. At least he could rest assured none of what Daryl read to her would stick for a few years to come.

Carol was just laying Judith down in her crib and Daryl took out the book and opened it.

"I'll read it to ya," he said, holding the book open and smiling softly at Judith before he began.

“Daryl, it’s okay, you don’t have-“

“ _The cats nestle close to their kittens._  
_The lambs have laid down with the sheep._  
_You’re cozy and warm in your bed, my dear._  
_Please go the fuck to sleep…_ ” Daryl spoke softly, his voice deep and soothing in a way that drained away Rick’s tension, glad it seemed to be a normal story until the last line of the verse that had Carl snorting a quick laugh and Carol giggling.

“Daryl!” the older woman chided softly, as to not disturb Judith. The redneck paid her no mind, determined to proceed in his badass parenting of the little asskicker.

“Uh… what exactly are you reading my daughter?” Rick asked, ducking low to get a look at the title on the cover. He caught a glimpse of some drawn tigers sleeping in a pile and a small child cuddled up to them before Daryl spoke up again and at this point Rick was convinced Daryl was paraphrasing to put it mildly.

“ _The windows are dark in the town, child_ -No shit without electricity-  
_And the whales huddle down in the deep._  
_I’ll read you one very last book if you swear…_  
_You’ll go the fuck to sleep…_ ” the redneck continued, breaking his poetic bedtime verse for some additional commentary in between and now even Rick couldn’t keep himself from smiling.

“ _The eagles who soar through the sky are at rest_  
_We killed the geeks who crawl, run, and creep._  
**_No, I know you’re not thirsty. That’s bullshit. I fed you!_**  
**_Lie the fuck down, my darling, and sleep!_** ” he continued, his soft narating suddenly cut off by Daryl scolding, which only made the little girl giggle adorably and put her fingers in her mouth. The sherif had to give it to him, Daryl’s acting was formidable.

“ _The wind whispers soft through the grass, hon._  
_The field mice, they make not a peep._  
**_It’s been thirty-eight minutes already~!!!_**  
**_Jesus Christ, what the fuck?! Go. To. Sleep!_** ” Daryl whined, seemingly becoming more agitated with every verse, pacing smoothly and reading from the book like he was some sort of shakespearian performer. Carol clasped her hands together and leaned forward in her seat, her eyes twinkling with a joy that rarely graced her kind features.

“ _All the kids from day care got eaten._  
_The froggie has made his last leap._  
**_Hell no, you can’t go to the bathroom!_ ** -I almost died getting you those fucking diapers!-  
**_You know where you can go? The fuck to sleep!_** ” Daryl said in a harsh whisper, leaning over the crib and pointing at Judith with a serious face, which again melted into a smile at the sound of her cute babbled response until he straitened up and continued.

“ _The owls fly forth from the treetops._  
_Through the air, they soar and they sweep._  
_A hot crimson rage fills my heart, love…_  
**_For real! Shut the fuck up and sleep!_** ” He got back into character in the blink of an eye, speaking almost kindly at first and forcing out the last words through clenched teeth, boiling with rage.  He calmed down again just as quickly and chuckled as he showed Judith the adorably drawn pictures.

“ _The cubs and the lions are snoring,_ -Kinda like your dad-“

“Hey!”

“ _Wrapped in a big snuggly heap_ ,” Daryl sang, turning away from the ex cop and jerking his head back to the oblivious infant having the time of her 4 month life.  
“ ** _How is it you can do all this other great shit_**  
**_But you can’t lie the fuck down and sleep?!_** ” he asked her.

Apparently the secret of Judith’s skill lay in the translation of “Blubah… prrrtth…” Or whatever noise it was. He was a hunter, not a baby interpreter.

“ _The seeds slumber beneath the earth now_  
_And the crops that the farmers will reap._ -Not really, we gotta do that shit ourselves now. Point is, sleeping tomatoes.-“

Carl doubled over in his seat, trying hard to keep his laughing down for his little sister. His face turned red and his cheeks puffed up as his shoulders shook with unheard laughter, which escaped him at the narrator’s next outburst.

“ ** _No! No more questions! This interview’s over!_**  
**_I’ve got two words for you, kid: fucking sleep!_** ” Daryl hissed, dropping to his knees beside the crib and clenching his fist like he was at his wits end before dragging himself back to a chair to sit down.

“ _The tiger reclines in the simmering jungle._  
_The sparrow has silenced her cheep._ -That noisy anorexic chicken better...-  
_**Fuck your stuffed bear, I’m not getting you shit!**_  
_**Close your eyes. Cut the crap. Sleep!**_ ” he said, throwing his arms up in despair, making the pages of the book flutter, but Rick noticed he hadn’t been looking at it for a while now, remembering every last word off the top of his head.

The baby girl’s actual father was having flashbacks to the many times he’d tried to put Carl to bed before the outbreak. The memories of those long excruciating nights both made him cringe and long for those simple times when his biggest concern was finding Carl’s bear so he could get back to Lori before she fell asleep on him first. He pushed those thoughts from his mind and tried to focus on Daryl’s story.

  
“ _The flowers doze low in the meadows_  
_And high on the mountains so steep._  
_My life is a failure, I’m a shitty-ass parent…_  
_Stop fucking with me, please, sleep…_ ” Daryl begged, covering his face with the open book and whining into the picture on the page as Carl nearly curled up on the floor and Carol occasionally snickered through her teeth, grinning fondly at Daryl in his desperate parent performance.

  
“ _The giant pangolins of Madagascar are snoozing._  
**_As I lie here and openly weep!!!_**  
**_Sure, fine, whatever, I’ll bring you some milk!_** -I nearly died for that shit!-  
**_Who the fuck cares?! You’re not gonna sleep…_** ” The redneck lamented into the shiny, cool pages before letting it slide off his face and fall into his lap.

“ _This room is all I can remember…_  
_The furniture crappy and cheap…_  
_You win. You escape. You run down the hall…_  
_As I nod the fuck off, and sleep…_ ” He whispers in a hoarse voice like he’s really on the edge of crying while poor little Judith whom he was accusing hadn’t budged an inch or spoken once since the start of Daryl’s bedtime story. Her uncle yawned and tipped his head back for a moment before rising again and sitting straight like he just woke up, looking over at Judith. Everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation of Daddy-Daryl’s bedtime monologue.

“ _Bleary and dazed I awaken…_  
_To find your eyes shut, so I keep-_  
_my fingers crossed tight as I tiptoe away…_  
_And pray that you’re fucking asleep…_ ” Daryl whispered, sliding out of the chair and onto the floor, sneaking behind Carol’s chair and hiding there from his niece the way he did while hunting skittish prey.

Rick chuckled warmly and leaned back to keep an eye on the prison’s greatest storyteller as he peaked out from behind the chair and delivered his last lines.

_“We’re finally watching our movie…_ \- Or the walkers from the watchtower, whatever-  
_Popcorn’s in the microwave…_ -I fucking wish, it’s faster than- **Beep!!!** ” Daryl leaped up from behind Carol at his own ‘beep’ and pressed his palms to his forehead, dropping the book and honest to god whimpering.

**_“Oh shit! Goddamn it! You’ve gotta be kidding!_ **  
**_Come on! go the fuck back to sleep!!!”_ **

The hunter dropped to his knees and pretended to weep while his family laughed and applauded. The redneck rolled over and folded his hands behind his head, grinning proudly.

“And that’s basically what I image your Friday nights look like, sherif snores~” he teased with a smirk.

“Yeah, about that! I don’t actually-“

“And the little asskicker is still awake… Who wants another story?”

 


End file.
